Sporadic protests in Tehran as riots reported in Iran’s west

Sporadic protests broke out in the Iranian capital and other cities, according to local media, which also reported intensifying clashes in the west of the country.

The demonstrations first kicked off last Sunday when shopkeepers staged a strike over economic concerns, but have since spread in size and scope, with protesters making political demands.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said that Khamenei stated the ongoing protests in Iran are yet to be called nationwide, adding that they are not gaining rapid momentum.

“From time to time and sporadically we witness protests, such as last night in Tehran, Kazerun and other cities,” he said, adding that 14 people, including security forces, have been killed since the demonstrations started.

“There might be further escalations if the government cannot come up with concrete and practical actions.”

Protests Saturday evening in Tehran were described as “limited” by the Fars news agency, which said they were “generally made up of groups of 50 to 200 young people”.

Tehran’s population is about 10 million.

Demonstrations were reported in the districts of Novobat and Tehran Pars in the capital’s east; Ekteban, Sadeghieh and Sattarkhan in the west; and Naziabad and Abdolabad in the south, Fars said.

Riots reported in Malekshahi

Demonstrators shouted slogans including “death to the dictator”, Fars said, though no major incidents were reported beyond some stone throwing and rubbish bins being set alight.

The news agency said the situation in Tehran “contrasted with an intensification of violence and organised attacks in other regions, notably the country’s west”.

In Malekshahi, a county of about 20,000 residents including a sizeable Kurdish population, a member of the security forces was killed in clashes, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

“Rioters attempted to storm a police station,” Fars said, adding that “two assailants were killed”.

Local media’s accounting of the protests is not exhaustive, and state-run outlets have downplayed their coverage of the demonstrations, while videos flooding social media are often impossible to verify.

On Saturday, Iranian Supreme Leader sent a strong message to rioters in his first remarks on the demonstrations.

“We talk to protesters, the officials must talk to them,” Khamenei said on Saturday.

“But there is no benefit to talking to rioters. Rioters must be put in their place.”

Al Jazeera’s Asadi said that Khamenei ‘s recent statement recognised the economic problems the country is facing.

“That gives legitimacy from his vantage point to these protests on one hand,” he said, reporting from Tehran.

Asadi stressed that the supreme leader also emphasised the government would not allow protests to turn into riots.

“That is the obvious warning he is trying to send out,” our correspondent added.